Hi Everyone,

Rain, cold, sun…Just another week in London! Thanks for getting out and running in all sorts of weather.

This is a bit of a long email, but it’s filled with very important training information so please read it! On Monday we have an 8-mile run out the canal west, through Notting Hill and Holland Park, down Kensington High Street to Hyde Park and ending at Green Park. Remember to watch your pace (more on that below).

Wednesday we’re doing another new tempo/speed workout and this time we’re in Hyde Park. Make sure you read the directions in the route section. As always, these workouts are so much more fun if you stick together as a group and encourage each other along the way. Friday we’re back up the Hill!

Our mileage is increasing! Make sure you take care of yourself. Stretch. Hydrate. Rest. See a specialist if something is bothering you. Schedule a sports massage. The Expert Help section on the Training tab on our website has a list of people who can help. Also don’t over do it. If you are thinking about doing the HIIT Lululemon class on Tuesday, you probably can’t also do an intense speed workout on Wednesday. Listen to your body!

Training Plan


As a reminder, our training is based on three runs per week.

• slow, longer run
• faster/tempo run
• hill run

This week I’d like to focus on the importance of running a slower long run. Below I’ve copied Paula Mitchell’s (WRW’s fabulous founder!) explanation from our website. This is important stuff so it’s worth the read.

Why do we run the long run slower than race pace?
  

The quick answer is that it has to do with how your body builds fuel, which is something you’ll need for the race! I’ll delve into the basic science of fueling (which I have hugely over-simplified but hopefully it’ll get my point across). To fuel our runs we have 3 options – Creatine Phosphate (CP), glycogen and fat.

Creatine Phosphate– You have about 15 seconds worth of CP fuel – that’s it. Think Usain Bolt running the 100m – he fuels with CP and it works because he can run 100m in less than 15 seconds. CP is where your body will go first looking for fuel, particularly if you take off like a rocket from Starbucks. Think of CP as kindling on a fire – it catches fire easily, but burns out very quickly.

Glycogen– Glycogen is the next fuel option. Glycogen is basically stored in your muscles and in your liver and because of that it makes glycogen a bit more difficult to burn as fuel (think of damp firewood – it will eventually burn, but it takes quite a bit to get it going).

Fat– Fat is the 3rd source of fuel and most runners, even the very lean women, have an ample supply of it. Think of fat as a butane tank of gas on the BBQ grill – once it’s lit, you can have countless cook-outs before the fuel is gone.

Here’s the important part- All of those fuel sources – kindling, damp firewood or butane gas need something to ignite them and keep them burning. Physiologically speaking that ignition or burning “tool” is ATP which is created by mitochondria; so, the more mitochondria you have the more efficient you are as a fuel burning machine.

What is mitochondria and how do we get more of it?  Some of us are genetically blessed with higher mitochondria counts. Thank your mother for that – it comes through the maternal side of the genetic equation. If you didn’t win the genetic lottery, then the only way you can increase mitochondria is through LONG, SLOW, ENDURANCE training (LSE). When you go for a long run at a slow pace, you actually produce mitochondria. Kind of cool, huh? Now remember – we need mitochondria to help ignite our fuel sources. So what does that mean for you? It means SLOW DOWN on your long run – give your body a chance to become a mitochondria production factory. If you do your long run at a strong pace, you’re missing out on this benefit.

How slow, is slow?  On our website we have a cool calculator from Runners World that calculates training pace based on your race pace. LINK (It has 6 different training paces for speed work, training and longer runs.) If you would like to run the half marathon in 2 hours (which is a fast time) you will need to average 9:10 min/mile during the race, but your long run pace should be 10:34-11:54.  If you would like to run it in 2 hours and 15 minutes, you will need to run 10:15 min/mile during the race but your long run pace should be 11:46-13:12.  If you want to run it in 1 hour and 45 minutes (we will only have a few women at that pace from our group) you will average an 8 min/mile race pace but should do your long run at 9:20-10:30.  I think you get the general picture. I imagine that these times seem much different than your usual Monday pace! The message is that you need to slow down a bit especially now that we are at the point in our training when we are doing our longest runs.

But I don’t know my race time?  That’s fine. Talk to the women in your pace group. Many of them will have run a half marathon before and you can get a sense of their race time as a base for what you might target as a race time. During training, if you don’t have a pace watch, ask the women in your pace group so you can get a general sense of the speed of the group. Also, try slowing down to the lower end of your pace group time. As a rule of thumb, your long run should be at a pace so comfortable that you feel like you could run forever.

It feels like this shouldn’t work.  I know it seems counter intuitive. (I want to run a fast race so I train slowly.  Really?) Trust us on this one. We’ve had very sceptical runners who followed this program and ran great races. It does work. Also, don’t forget we’ll be adding more tempo and speed work into our workouts, just not on the long run day.

High Intensity Training Class by Lululemon – Tuesday 24 January

Thanks to Stephanie Gladis and Kathy Anderson who have arranged a HIIT class (high intensity interval training) for the SJW Women’s Club and they have extended the invitation to WRW as well. The class is designed by Lululemon ambassador Lawrence Hannah and is the most effective and efficient way to improve fitness, torch fat, and increase your cardio. Get ready for short periods of intense work followed by short periods of rest which will boost your strength and cut your running times. Your body will work so hard it’ll create an “afterburn effect,” which means you’ll continue to burn fat hours after our workout has finished. You’ll also learn proper technique and exercise that can be done without weights and gym using just your bodyweight. We’ll head back to Lululemon for a stretch and maybe a surprise or two.

Meet at 8:45am at the Lululemon Marylebone store (74-75 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5JW).

Sign-ups are through the SJWWC website, and if you aren’t a member, just email Stephanie Gladis  or Kathy Anderson

Save the Date – Tuesday January 31 – Shirt/Hat Distribution and Money Collection

On Tuesday January 31 in the morning, we’ll be collecting money and distributing the WRW shirts and hats. (They look amazing!) We will also be collecting money for certain expenses for the Warsaw Half Marathon trip. More details to follow.

Thanks for reading that long email!  And keep running!

Jane

ROUTES

Monday, 23 January – Holland Park to Green Park (8 miles)

We start out the same as our traditional Notting Hill Route [Circus Rd to Grove End, to St Johns Wood Rd to Cunningham, to Blomfield to the Canal, going west past the Westway to Ladbroke Grove].  Once on Ladbroke Grove, run south all the way until it ends at Holland Park Avenue.  Cross Holland Park Avenue, take a right and then a left on Holland Walk [just past Aubrey Road].  Holland Walk is a pedestrian way.  Run up Holland Walk until the first entrance into Holland Park on your right [opposite the Duchess of Bedford Walk].  Run into the park and then turn left on the broad walk which goes the length of Holland Park until it ends at Kensington High Street; turn left and run along Ken High Street.  (For a shorter run, you can leave at the Ken High St Tube which makes it about a 5 mi run).  Otherwise, continue on until you reach Kensington Park, where you enter it at the junction with the Broad Walk [just before Palace Gate road]. Take the Broad Walk to the first path on the right which turns into So Carriage Dr. You’ll run past The Albert Memorial and cross West Carriage Dr at the light. Continue on So Carriage Dr all the way to Apsley House/Hyde Park Corner.   Cross over Piccadilly and run under Wellington Arch, then cross at the light to run along the path to the left of Constitution Hill [the same route we take in going to Big Ben],  At the Mall, turn left to run to the easternmost path of Green Park [again, familiar from other routes], turn left and run by Lancaster House to Green Park Tube. Hop on the Tube back to SJW and meet up at Starbucks

Wednesday, 25 January – Hyde Park Tempo Triangle

Head down to Hyde Park the usual way at a very gentle pace. Once you reach the park pick up the pace a bit around Speaker’s Corner, and then run very fast down to the SE corner of the park. Jog slowly around the corner while you try to bring your heart rate back down to a recovered rate. Once you reach the straightaway, run hard again to Carriage Road. Slow down to a recover rate again as you cross over the bridge and up to the path, where you will turn right and run hard along the diagonal back to Speaker’s Corner. Jog very slowly back to SJW or, even better, hop on the bus or tube from Marble Arch. If you are not doing tempo work, you can do this run at a regular pace (if you go back to SJW it is about 6.5 miles).

Friday, 27 January – The Heath!  

It’s Friday [again!], so everyone up the hill! You can pick your distance and whatever you choose, there will certainly be someone else interested in running that distance. All of these routes are on the website. If you are not up for a hill run, ask around at Barclays; every week there is a group who prefer to do a flat run and you can decide together which flat route to tackle.

4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill. Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back. If you have trouble running up, think about how easy it will be running down!

5 miles: The Betsy Route

6+ miles:  The Partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath route

7.5 miles: The Highgate route

8 miles:  The Full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.

Snow in London! Well done to everyone who braved the cold and snow on Friday. I just love the spirit of this group! This Monday we’re heading to Sloane Square, the Embankment, Westminster and Green Park. If you’re training for the half marathon, the training plan calls for 7 miles which means ending at Green Park. If you are still building your mileage, you can also stop at Westminster which would be 6 miles. If you’ve done a few 6-mile runs, try to push yourself to see if you can make it to the 7-mile mark. Wednesday we have another tempo workout. Please read the description below because it is different than the one we did last week. THIS IS SO MUCH MORE FUN IF YOU TACKLE IT AS A GROUP AND ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER! Friday we’re suggesting the 7.5 mile Highgate/Heath route as an option. This is a beautiful hill route and you can avoid some of the mud in the Heath at this time of year, but as always you can do another route if you prefer.

Did you get the Warsaw Poland travel email?
If you’re attending our half-marathon trip to Warsaw you should have received an email on Friday night with the subject “Warsaw Half Marathon – 2nd Travel Email.” If you didn’t get it, please check your JUNK box and if you still didn’t get it, please let us know ASAP. We are trying to finalise our list of attendees. This is crucial because all future travel information will only go to those attending the trip. If your plans have changed for any reason, please let us know before you cancel your hotel room. The hotel is sold out and we have women on a wait list who are hoping for a room. If you can no longer go, we will transfer your room to one of them.

Only ten weeks to the race!
Mark your calendars and plan for plenty of time to complete the long runs especially when it is a destination and we need to tube home. Looking ahead, we have the following long runs on the schedule:

Jan. 16 – Sloane Square/Westminster/Green Park (7.5 miles)
Jan. 23 – Canal/Holland Park/Green Park (8 miles)
Jan. 30 – Wembley standard (8 or 9 miles)
Feb. 6 – Canary Wharf (9.5 miles)
Feb. 13 – Winter Break
Feb. 20 – Sloane Square/Battersea/Green Park (9 miles)
Feb. 27 – Greenford (10 miles)
March 6 – Wembley REVERSE (8 miles)
March 13 – Kew Gardens (11 miles)
March 20 – Serpentine (5.5 miles)
MARCH 26 – RACE DAY

ENERGY GELS for training and the race
Looking ahead to our longest training runs, it’s time to start to think about what type of gel or fueling you’ll use during the race. Fueling is different for each runner, but I’ll give you some of Paula’s (the founder of WRW!) general guidelines. The rule of thumb is that after about 80-90 minutes of running you’ll have used up natural fuel sources and you’ll need to top up the tank with something. (That’s based on our type of running, if someone is running a marathon at a 6 min/mile pace, their fueling needs will be different!) Most of the women in the group use some sort of sports gel. If you’ve never used a sports gel before it is crucial that you try it out during some of our long training runs. The gels are very concentrated so a brand that might work well for one person could make another person feel sick. Some people like the gels which have a consistency of jelly or frosting and some people like blocks or chews that is similar to a gummy bear. Below are some recommendations from members of the group. (If you’ve never used one before I would try the Gu Energy brand first and make sure you note if the flavour has caffeine or not.) It’s worth stocking up now so you’ll have them for our longest runs. You can go to a Runner’s Need store or order them on the internet. Amazon also has a good stock. (If you have some leftovers at home, make sure to check the expiration date because they don’t last forever.)

• Amy – GU Energy, Tri-Berry
• Syma – TORQ, Forest Fruits
• Jane – GU Roctane (has caffeine), Blueberry Pomegranate
• Chris – SiS or Clif Shot Bloks

We’ll review this again before our longest runs, but in general during a race you would take a gel somewhere between 7-8 miles and then don’t take another one for 35-45 mins. (Don’t be tempted to take more than one gel in 30 mins! – you’ll need to keep an eye on your watch.) If you don’t want to get into too much of the science of it all, Paula recommends that you take a gel at 8 miles during the race if you’re running at a medium pace for you (not as compared to anyone else) or 7 miles if you’re running fast for you. For me, during training, I will take a gel around 7-8 mile mark of a 9-mile or 10-mile run. Even if I don’t feel that I desperately need it at that point, it helps me feel better at the end of run, and helps me practice taking a gel. If you are interested in learning more about fueling, gels and the different brands, CLICK HERE to read Paula’s full note.

High Intensity Training Class by Lululemon – Tuesday 24 January
Thanks to Stephanie Gladis and Kathy Anderson who have arranged a HIIT class (high intensity interval training) for the SJW Women’s Club and they have extended the invitation to WRW as well. The class is designed by Lululemon ambassador Lawrence Hannah and is the most effective and efficient way to improve fitness, torch fat, and increase your cardio. Get ready for short periods of intense work followed by short periods of rest which will boost your strength and cut your running times. Your body will work so hard it’ll create an “afterburn effect,” which means you’ll continue to burn fat hours after our workout has finished. You’ll also learn proper technique and exercise that can be done without weights and gym using just your bodyweight. We’ll head back to Lululemon for a stretch and maybe a surprise or two.

Meet at 8:45am at the Lululemon Marylebone store (74-75 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5JW).
Sign-ups are through the SJWWC website, and if you aren’t a member, just email Stephanie Gladis ([email protected]) or Kathy Anderson ([email protected])

Keep running,
Jane

ROUTES

Monday, 16 January – Sloane Square/Westminster/Green Park (7 miles)

We start out by running to Hyde Park, taking the usual route: west on Circus Road, left on Grove End, all the way down to Seymour Place where the road ends. Right on Seymour, across Edgware, left on Stanhope and enter the park. At the silver orb, turn left and run down to the southern edge, following the path to the right before it leaves the Park. Run to big gated exit before the tall ‘One Hyde Park’ complex, cross over Knightsbridge at William Street, quick right on Knightsbridge then a left onto Sloane Street continue past Sloane Square down Lower Sloane St/Chelsea Bridge Road to the Thames. Turn left on the Thames side of Grosvenor Rd and run along the Embankment to Westminster and continue left on Birdcage Walk, cutting through St James Park to the Mall, then left on the Mall towards Buckingham Palace, crossing before the circle to reach Green Park. Run up to the Green Park Tube on Piccadilly St and take the tube home!

Wednesday, 18 January – Tempo Track Sprinting and Fartleks

Time for more tempo training—this week we incorporate Fartleks, which are short sprint bursts interspersed into the run.

Head down to the Regents Park Outer Circle the normal way [down Wellington, left at roundabout, cross zebra before the High Street, enter outer park at Charlbert] but do not go into the park, instead turn left on the outer circle and run slowly to the track. Run ONE lap at the track, gradually increasing your speed. Now, time to really run!

Do a timed one mile on the track [4 laps in the middle lane is pretty close] or you can set your watch to give you a one mile interval. Run this mile at about 80-85% of your maximum capacity. If it were a scale of 1-20 [where 20 is a level of intensity that you could do for 1-2 seconds before you collapse], your timed mile should be a 16-17 [yikes!]. After your timed mile, jog another lap, slowly, around the track to recover, then continue to run slowly over the Regents Park.

Now, we’ll do about a 15-20 minute group Fartlek session. This is how it works: break into groups of 3-5 runners based on your sprint pace—the fastest group needs to be in front. Separate each group by a couple of minutes before you start running again. Someone in each group identifies the ‘run-to’ point [a bench, a rubbish can, a particular tree, etc] then counts down 3,2,1, ‘GO!’ Everyone in that group runs as hard as possible to the established ‘run-to’ point. The distance of each fartlek should be different—mix up longer legs [maybe 200 meters] with shorter legs [maybe 20 meters]. You can do the loop outlined in the map below or just pick your own path until you’ve done about 15-20 minutes of fartleks.

Now, jog back over to the track and do ANOTHER timed mile to try to meet or better the time you had from your first timed mile.

Run, walk or crawl back to Starbucks and enjoy a much-earned coffee and chat!

Friday, 20 January – Highgate (7.5+miles)

Head up Fitzjohn’s, as usual, and continue past the Hampstead Tube and Whitestone Pond to stay on Spaniards Road. Do not enter the Heath at the normal entry point, but stay on Spaniards Road as it wraps around the outside of the Heath, past Kenwood House and past The Bishops Road where Spaniards Road turns into Hampstead Lane. Continue on Hampstead Lane as it edges around the outside of the Heath in a gentle rise until you reach The Grove, where you turn right. [The Grove is a pretty, tree lined street just before the Highgate roundabout]. Run to the first right lane, which is Fitzroy Park and has a traffic barrier across the road.] Pass around the traffic barrier—this is fine! And continue down the road, past lovely homes and a famous allotment on the right side. This road curves downhill to the left and takes you to the entrance of the Heath near a set of bathrooms [and just before Merton Lane to the left]. Enter the Heath, run past the loos and take the path to the left as it runs along a the model boating pond, the men’s bathing pond and a third pond. [Due to the construction in the Heath, you may need to take the path on the near side of the first pond.] When the sidewalk dead ends, take a right to run along the exercise fields, track and swimming pool.

Exit the Heath past the swimming pool, crossing over the bridge onto Constantine Road. Take a right, running past South End Rd/Fleet Rd, past the Royal Free Hospital and cutting to the left just past the Royal Free’s entrance driveway to take a short cut to Haverstock Hill. Go left on Haverstock Hill to Belsize Avenue, veering to the left to stay onto Buckland Crescent and take this to Fitzjohn’s. Left on Fitzjohn’s to Swiss Cottage, then scoot over to St Johns Wood Park Road and back to Starbucks.

Alternatives:
4 miles: A great way to ease into running the hill. Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back. If you have trouble running up, think about how easy it will be running down!
5 miles: The Betsy Route
6+ miles: The Partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath route
8 miles: The Full Heath route

Click here for maps of all of the Heath routes.